President Ahmet Necdet Sezer gave an important speech at Cankaya
Presidential Palace, where the second 'New Year's Day' reception
was held. While answering questions from journalists, Sezer said,
"Democracy can be improved with the politicians. Within the
framework of the European Union (EU), the government is
continuing its preparations for the national program. The year
2000 was a lost year. I vow the year 2001 will not also be lost.
Being a member of the EU is not the most important question.
However, it is necessary for Turkey to be a modern country.
Democracy can be improved with the politicians. Politics also
should be cleaned up. That which will ensure democracy and clean
up politics are the politicians themselves. Constitutional change
is not necessary for the abolution of the death sentence; certain
arrangements in law will be enough for this. /Hurriyet/

Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit warned France for the last time
concerning the so-called Armenian genocide bill up for vote in
the French National Assembly today. Ecevit summoned the French
Ambassador to Ankara, Bernard Garcia, to his office and warned
him that if the bill passed, the relations between the two
countries would be in serious crisis. Ecevit wanted Ambassador
Garcia to relay this warning to the President and the Prime
Minister of France. While the Armenian bill is expected to pass,
the relations between France and Turkey are also expected to
reach a critical stage. A high-ranking official from the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs said Turkey was doing its best to prevent the
passage of the bill, and they had given a list of all political,
military, commercial, economic and cultural sanctions, which can
be carried out, to the government. In the list there are some
measures such as postponing planned visits; decreasing mutual
contacts to a minimum; delaying cultural projects; excluding
France, mostly Paris, from military biddings; and applying a
covered embargo to France. /Milliyet/

The Patriarch of Turkish Armenians, Mesrob Mutafyan, stated
concerning the so-called Armenian genocide allegations that the
headache was still continuing and that Turkey and Armenia should
set up direct contacts and solve the problem. He added that if
direct contacts are not achieved, third parties would become
involved in the issue and misuse it. He noted his readiness to
give spiritual support for the establishment of this dialogue
between the two countries. /Aksam/

The delay in completing the 'National Program' in answer to the
Accession Partnership Document (KOB) prepared by the European
Union (EU) outlining the necessary stages for EU membership was
considered 'natural' by the EU. The Commission's member
responsible for expansion, Gunter Verheugen's speaker Jean
Cristophe Filori, said, "We are not worried about the issue. We
consider it normal." Filori recalled the KOB is not yet official
as the Commission has not approved it, and added, "It is very
normal for Turkey to wait for this extraordinary process to come
to an end. As the EU, we expect Turkey to prepare a National
Program reflecting the requirements explained in the KOB. The
important thing is the determination of Turkey concerning the
publication of the National Program." /Milliyet/

The EU Commission approved procedures enabling the 13 candidate
members to join the European Environment Agency prior to their
acceptance as full members. The EU Commission officials stated
that the agency was the first EU institution accepting candidate
members (including Turkey) prior to being accepted as full EU
members. Turkey first attempted to join the Agency in June 1999.
/All papers/

The former Chief of the Joint Chief of Staff, Colin Powell, and
the US Secretary of State-elect, gave a signal that the Cyprus
issue will be considered important during the new administration.
The new President and his staff would try to convince the
President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Rauf
Denktas, to return to the negotiations table. Powell speaking
before the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee, answered
questions and talked about the Cyprus problem as a wound that
still hasn't healed. Powell added, "This problem is a source of
difficulty between Turkey and Greece. We will be here for the
solution of the problem. Turkey and Greece have different
approaches concerning the problem of Cyprus. The Greek-Cypriot
Administration favors a federation with two nations and two
divisions." Powell described Turkey's opinion only as 'a little
different from the Greek opinion'. He added, "We will continue to
work for ongoing friendly relations between these allies. We
support the process of negotiations under the leadership of the
United Nations (UN). We should try to encourage Denktas to return
to the negotiations." /Milliyet/

President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Rauf
Denktas said he believes the EU Commissioner responsible for
Enlargement, Gunter Verheugen, cannot diagnose the Cyprus problem
in a realistic way. Verheugen has previously said that full EU
membership negotiations could not be held separately with
northern Cyprus and added that it was a dream to consider that
northern Cyprus could become an EU member together with Turkey in
the future. /Aksam/

Legendary Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, published a book on the
biography of the Great Ataturk, the Turkish War of Independence,
the establishment and the revolutions of the Turkish Republic.
This book, written in Spanish, is distributed throughout Cuba.
During his meeting with Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, the Cuban Minister of Foreign
Affairs, Felipe Perez Roque, told them Castro had published a
book on Ataturk. During the meeting, Roque gave a written message
from Castro to Sezer and an verbal message to Ecevit. In his
message, Castro mentioned his and the Cuban people's respect for
Ataturk. Meanwhile, Roque said he was very excited when he
visited the Mausaleum of Ataturk prior to his official visits.
The guest Minister was received by Sezer and Ecevit. Roque also
met with State Minister Rustu Kazim Yucelen and his Turkish
colleague Ismail Cem. Cem and Roque, after a meeting held at the
Foreign Ministry Residence, signed the 'Agreement to Fight
Against Drugs and Psychotropic Materials Smuggling'. Cem said
relations had been strengthened thanks to the mutual visits and
the cigar factory in Istanbul, which is one of Cuba's first
investments, will be active by February. /Hurriyet/

Swedish Prime Minister Persson said in his speech delivered
during the general session of the European Parliament yesterday
that during Sweden's EU Term-Presidency for six months, they
would attach importance to Turco-EU relations. He added: "Within
this framework, the National Program to be presented by Turkey
will play a significant role". /Cumhuriyet/

A partnership agreement was signed yesterday between the Gantek
Technology and the software company, Intrasoft, a member of the
Intracom Group, one of the leading institutions in Greece. With
the agreement, Intrasoft became a 20 % shareholder in Gantek.
/Sabah/

The Foreign Ministry said yesterday the 'Reliant Mermaid-3'
exercise to be jointly carried out by Turkish, US and Israeli
naval forces was not aimed at any third country. Foreign Ministry
Deputy Spokesman Huseyin Dirioz said that the exercise was fully
aimed at humanitarian objectives. /Cumhuriyet/

Consensus was reached on the Constitution's 69th Article to be
changed as: 'the higher number of votes is necessary to decide to
close a party and the closed party is not banned from elections'.
/Milliyet/

A military aircraft carrying two crew members crashed into the
side of a mountain in northwestern Turkey yesterday, a Turkish
Air Force official said. It was not immediately clear why the F-4
warplane went down. It is reported that the crew of two died
during the accident. /All papers/

It is reported that with the $20 million in credits the Izmit
Municipality received during a competition held by the EU, 14 new
environmental projects will be implemented. The Izmit
Municipality ranked first in the 'Healthy Environment' part of
the competition last year. /Cumhuriyet/

The railway project regarding the construction of railway track
between Kars and Tbilisi will be put back on the agenda when
Georgian Head of State Eduard Shevardnadze visits Turkey late
this month. /Turkish Daily News/

The Foreign Relations Director of the IMF, Tom Dowson, relayed
important information to the world regarding Turkey. He pointed
out Turkey's positive performance following the financial crisis
last year and said: "With the measures taken following the crisis
last year in the Turkish financial markets, Turkey has not
deviated from the ecomomic program. Extremely correct steps are
still being taken". Dowson held a press conference in the IMF
centre in Washington yesterday. /Sabah/

The Privatization Board will make a privatization of 2.1. billion
US dollars. According to the news received, Chairman of the
Privatization Board, Ugur Bayar, gave information on the
privatization practices for the year 2000 to the International
Monetary Fund (IMF). Bayar said a total of 2.7 billion US dollars
was earned from privatization as part of the 2000 program. Bayar
added that privatization amounting to 169 million US dollars was
in the agreement stage and that another privatization amounting
to 45 million US dollars, was awaiting a decision by the Supreme
Council of Privatization. /Milliyet/

State Minister Tunca Toskay, who held a meeting with the IMF
delegation yesterday, told reporters after the meeting that the
government was in consensus with the IMF over the need for a
radical overhaul of the banking sector. He said measures were
needed to aid the real economy in face of pressures in the
banking sector. /All papers/

The privatization bidding for Emek hotels will soon be concluded,
said Finance Minister Sumer Oral. He said that the best bids were
from Swissotel, Millennium and Copthorne and Radisson SAS. In a
press conference held in Ankara yesterday, Oral gave information
on the results of bidding process for Emek hotels owned by the
Pension Fund. Oral hopes agreements will be signed with these
bidders before the middle of this year. /All papers/

The international credit rating institution, Fitch, gave an 'A',
which is one of the long-term highest ratings, to 'Hurriyet'
daily. Deputy Chairman of Dogan Publishing Holding Company, Soner
Gedik, said, "Hurriyet confirmed its local rating and proved that
it is one of the companies with the highest credit rating in
Turkey." /Hurriyet/

The American firm Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, an international
advisory service, announced that tourism will be the locomotive
of the economy. Within the framework of its estimations for the
year 2001, Morgan Stanley announced the number of tourists will
reach 11.5 million with an increase of 11.8 %. In light of these
estimations, the income to be earned by Turkey for the year 2001
is expected to reach 9.2 billion US dollars. /Turkiye/

An Istanbul born Turkish poet now living in Berlin, Zehra Cirak,
received the Adelbert von Chamisso worth 25,000 DM. She will
accept her award during a ceremony to be held at Munich's
Bavarian Fine Arts Academy on February 22. /Cumhuriyet/

Columnist Sahin Alpay writes on the concerns in the West over the
European Joint Security and Defense Policy. A summary of his
column is as follows:

"Ten years after the end of the Cold War, the situation in the
Western Alliance can be summed up as follows: There is a lack of
confidence both on the part of the EU, and that of the US and
Turkey, in NATO. The US, on the one hand wants to increase EU's
share in the protection of peace and stability in Europe, and
therefore, supports the European Joint Security and Defence
Policy (ESDP). On the other hand, the US is concerned over the EU
Rapid Reaction Force initiative becoming independent from NATO
and thus turning into a European Army.

The EU is concerned over the focus of US attention shifting to
the Far East, and consequently, turning its back on European
Defense. The National Missile Defense System proposed by the US
will escalate the arms race with Russia and China. The shadow of
competition between the defense industries on both sides falls on
the background of disagreements between the US and EU.

Turkey has proposed to contribute greatly to the Rapid Reaction
Force which will tackle the crises in Europe. However, she wants
to take place in the planning and decision-making mechanisms of
the force in return for this contribution. The EU suggests
Turkey, who is not a member, take a place in the councilling
mechanism. This being the case, Turkey is against the use of NATO
facilities by the EU force.

Ankara has given the signal that she would be satisfied with
restricting herself to her geopilitical region. Although a
compromise is expected in the end, this has not yet happened.

Meanwhile, the disagreement over the ESDP has been interpreted by
some EU circles as Ankara's wish to enter the Union, without
fulfilling the Copenhagen criteria, via the back door. In those
Turkish circles opposing entrance to the EU, suspicion that the
ESDP could be used against Turkey is being voiced.

Prof. Ali Karaosmanoglu said in a statement, "Certainly, the
Copenhagen criteria affects Turco-EU relations regarding the
ESDP. The EU cannot ignore Turkey's geo-strategic location, its
military power, and great potential, yet prefers to keep her at
the doorstep of the Union considering the drawbacks in her
democracy. In the final analysis, for the EU, the question is
beyond Turkey's participation in the decision processes, but
rather takes on the character of a 'Eureopean identity' and a
'legal' problem.

In the long run NATO will be left in history. Will Turkey ensure
her security by being a part of the EU? Or, will she rely on
strategic relations formed with the US and Israel? It seems that
earning a European identity by fulfilling Copenhagen criteria as
soon as possible is becoming a security issue."